


A Slip and A Splash

by microwaveslayer



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Life-Saving, M/M, Near-death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-07-16
Packaged: 2018-04-09 17:03:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4357286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/microwaveslayer/pseuds/microwaveslayer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And so the prince of the ocean had to do something. Letting the half-frozen boy live, however, caused more headaches than needed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Slip and A Splash

Equius Zahhak was nothing if not careful. He was also overly kind to animals.  
And that was how he found himself herding beasts in a storm away from the ocean-side cliffs. A herd of muscle-beasts with a few simple equines mixed in. Thunder made them skittish and Equius' presence made them more tense.  
And with his strength, fighting back would hurt the creatures.  
“Settle now,” he murmured, reaching over and holding out his hand. An equine sniffed it before trotting away from him.  
He thought he was doing fairly well in keeping them away from the edges of the cliffs. That was all he needed to do. He didn't even mind getting soaked in the rain.  
He decided to take a short break, sitting away from the herd and just watching them.   
Well, that was the plan. A small equine, not more than a few days old, strayed toward the edge of the cliffs. When Equius stood up, it was too fast and a mare bolted out of the herd, rearing up and kicking at Equius.  
He gave in, even when she head-butted him. To touch her would be to break her.  
But the head-butts knocked him closer to the edge.  
Equius Zahhak was not very coordinated. He slipped, boots trying to gain traction so he could pull himself up. The rocks crumbled to fine dust under his hands and he plummeted.  
His first thought was that the sea was very cold. His second thought was the panic of not knowing how to swim very well. His third thought before blacking out was that the sea was saltier than he had expected.

* * *

Eridan Ampora was nothing if not amphibious. He was also very concerned with shiny trinkets.  
Having another body in the icy waters near his potential trove of max loot was annoying. It was also infuriating. It was also very rude.  
He turned his head, fins spread as wide as possible in an attempt to intimidate.  
And then he realized the other troll was drowning. For a moment, Eridan was torn between this hapless landdweller and loot.  
He glanced at the cave and sighed a steady stream of bubbles.  
He swam toward the landdweller, guiding him to the surface. When the other didn't breathe, Eridan thumped him on the back. Hard.  
Coughing and sputtering, the landdweller started wheezing. He clung to Eridan, shuddering.  
Eridan wrinkled his nose and wondered if it was that cold.  
He swam, half-dragging the landdweller to an island. It wasn't much, but it was close and the trees would make a good-enough shelter. Leaving him on the beach, Eridan pulled off his cape and scarf, hanging them over a tree branch. It wouldn't help them dry, not with the rain pouring like it was, but it would be nice to get the wet clothes off.  
He considered making a fire for a moment. The landdweller shivered pretty badly and looked pretty blue.  
With a sigh, Eridan decided to make do with the wet wood and grasses. He managed to get a small fire started up, letting it grow as much as it would before dragging the landdweller over the sand and up the hill to the fire.  
Eridan Ampora let Equius Zahhak cling to him and rest next to the small fire he had built.

* * *

Equius Zahhak spoke his first words to Eridan Ampora the morning after.  
Eridan had left to catch some fish and avoid the sunbeams that fell through the cracks in the canopy. When he trudged up the beach and hill to the camp, he found the landdweller awake, the fire grown under his hands.  
“You're a seadweller,” Equius murmured. He stared (or seemed to. It was hard for Eridan to tell) in the direction of Eridan's gills, then bowed his head, silky hair screening off his face. “I apologize for being a burden.”  
“About time someone did,” Eridan scoffed. He handed a fish to Equius and watched him turn a bit blue at the scaled body in his hands.  
“Seadweller, I don't--”  
“You'll have to,” Eridan told him. “This is one of my little hideouts and fish is the only way to eat.”  
He got up, finding a good sized stick. Eridan rammed it down the fish's throat, putting the other end deep in the dirt. The flesh cooked, scales darkening and crisping under the heat.  
“I'm sorry,” Equius mumbled. “I meant no disrespect.”  
Eridan pulled the fish away from the fire once he thought it was cooked well enough. He peeled the scales away and held the meat out to Equius. “Eat.”  
Equius took it and took a few tentative bites. Then he moved up to average sized bites.  
“Eridan,” the seadweller said.  
“I'm sorry?” Equius asked.  
Eridan snatched his shades off his face, staring in his eyes properly. “Eridan Ampora.”  
Equius' eyes widened and he lowered his head again. “Dualscar's--”  
“Yeah,” Eridan sneered. “That shitstain'd cower at the sight of me. I'm making a landdweller lick my boots.”  
“Do they need to be shined?” Equius asked.  
“Just raise your head,” Eridan told him. “I like looking at the people I'm addressing.”  
“Yes, sir,” Equius said. He glanced down at the fish and held it out. “You should eat too.”  
Eridan nodded and accepted what was left of the fish. He slurped the heart out of it last, chewing it slowly as he looked at the landdweller. “Get some rest.”  
Equius nodded, curling up by the fire. Eridan noticed he had broken out in a sweat, deep blue drops glistening on his skin.  
He certainly wasn't the worst-looking troll Eridan had ever seen.

* * *

That night, Equius Zahhak made the biggest fool of himself. He woke up with his head in the seadweller's lap.   
“Well someone's finally up,” Eridan noted, dragging his claws through the landdweller's hair.  
Equius sat up so fast he accidentally head-butted the seadweller's chin, Eridan's teeth clicking together painfully. Equius reached over to do something, then stopped.  
“What the fuck?” Eridan hissed, feeling his neck and jaw.  
“I am horribly sorry,” Equius told him. “And someone of your stature should avoid using such foul language.”  
Eridan squinted at him and Equius felt his face heat up.  
“Seadweller, I desire to return home,” he told him.  
Eridan huffed, “No use. There's another storm on the way.”  
“You couldn't . . .?” Equius asked, making a floundering paddling motion.  
“I don't like to ferry around dead weight during storms,” Eridan told him.  
Equius nodded and told him, “Thank you anyway. I am terribly sorry for head-butting you.”  
“It's nothing, I guess,” Eridan told him. “Your hair's soft.”  
Equius reached over running his hand through his hair. “You think so?”  
Eridan nodded.  
“I try to wash it often,” Equius told him.  
“It's nice,” Eridan told him, standing up. “I'm gonna go get some more fish.”  
“I'll ensure the fire is well-stocked,” Equius told him.  
“You should,” Eridan told him.

* * *

Eridan Ampora kicked out the fire once Equius woke up. He helped the muscle-bound landdweller to his feet and told him, “I'm taking you back to the beach.”  
“But I--”  
“I know. I saw you fall,” Eridan told him. “It sucked.”  
Equius' face burned and he asked, “You're taking me to the beach by the cliffs?”  
“Of course.”  
“Will I see you again?” Equius asked.  
Eridan shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. So don't go falling off any more cliffs, 'cause I might not be there to save you again.”  
Equius nodded as they walked down to the beach. As they stood on the shore, Eridan put an arm around him.  
“Seadwe—Eridan,” Equius said. “I can walk just fine.”  
“Yeah, but I'd rather start the clinging-fest now,” Eridan told him, pulling Equius closer to him.  
Equius nodded and they trudged into the cool water. His breath hitched as he found himself submerged up to his neck.  
“The trick is not to panic,” Eridan told him.  
Equius grudgingly followed his dragging claws clinging to the seadweller as much as he dared without hurting him. “Easy for you to say. You don't drown.”  
“And I'm not letting you drown,” Eridan promised him, rolling his eyes and pulling him out into deeper waters. “Kick your legs.”  
Equius did so clumsily and Eridan sighed, helping him along.  
“You really should learn to swim,” Eridan told him. “It's much better. Soothing or some shit.”  
“Language,” Equius said, brow knitted together in concentration and frustration.  
“Right. Forgot you're as uptight as a clam,” Eridan sighed.  
They swam slowly and clumsily. For a while, they were content to be silent, Eridan ferrying him along.  
“There's the beach,” Eridan said, nodding at a silver strip of beach. “We're almost there.”  
Equius nodded, squinting at the beach. “I'm exhausted.”  
“The more you do it, the quicker you get,” Eridan told him, helping him up onto the beach.  
Equius collapsed face-first onto the soft sand, laying there for a moment before rolling onto his back. He found the seadweller staring down at him.  
“You're literally caked in sand,” Eridan told him.  
“I apologize but the ocean is not my area of expertise,” Equius told him, turning to spit some sand out of his mouth.  
Eridan fished in his pocket for something and held out Equius' shades. Equius took them carefully, setting them in his lap.  
“I, uh, I'll probably be back in the neighbourhood,” Eridan said, rubbing the back of his neck.  
“I'll check the beach everyday,” Equius promised.  
Eridan nodded and walked down to the surf lapping at the shore. He trudged into waist-deep water and darted into the black sea.  
Equius slid his glasses onto his face. As he walked up the beach and away from the shore, he found a conch nestled in the shade. He scooped it up, shaking some sand out of it. He turned toward the beach and blew into the conch, making a deep booming call.  
He could have sworn he saw a fin-framed head stare at him from the sea.


End file.
